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Ward Wilson is a nuclear weapons policy analyst who is, in the words of Nonproliferation Review editor Stephen Schwartz “ . . . well on his way to deconstructing the most fundamental beliefs about nuclear weapons.” His book, entitled Five Myths about Nuclear Deterrence, which presents a pragmatic critique of the rationale for nuclear weapons is due out on January 15, 2013 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

In February 2010, Wilson was awarded a substantial grant by the Foreign Ministry of Norway in support of three years of basic research, writing, and speaking. The grant is administered by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at the Monterey Institute of International Studies where Wilson is a Senior Fellow. He also directs the Rethinking Nuclear Weapons project.

Wilson is author of the groundbreaking article “The Winning Weapon? Rethinking Nuclear Weapons in Light of Hiroshima,” the prize winning “The Myth of Nuclear Deterrence,” and co-author of a study commissioned by the Swiss Foreign Ministry titled “Delegitimizing Nuclear Weapons: Examining the Validity of Nuclear Deterrence.”

He has presented or participated in invited colloquia at: the House of Commons in Great Britain, Princeton University, Stanford University, the United Nations, the Naval War College, University of Pretoria, the University of Chicago, Georgetown University, the Norwegian Defense Studies Institute, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Stimson Center, the University of Hamburg, Oslo University, the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, the Institute for Advanced Study, as well as others.

ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR

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Abstract
Recent evidence from World War II and the Cold War shows that nuclear weapons are far less useful as military and political tools than has been believed. Far from giving a madman the power to conquer the world, nuclear weapons are clumsy, dangerous technology with very few real uses — even if you have a monopoly.
No one does his best thinking when gripped by fear. This is why audiences often call urgently to people on movie screens: “No! Get out of the cabin! Now...